Different devices for protecting a user, or others, from the sharp end of an exposed needle are disclosed in the aforenoted co-pending applications. Such protective devices safeguard the user, and bystanders, from being inadvertently punctured by contaminated needles and thereby risking contracting contagious diseases that may be carried by the contaminated needles.
To ensure a high degree of safety, it has been well recognized that no contact be made with a contaminated needle, after the same has been withdrawn from a patient Yet with conventional syringes, a contaminated needle has to be first recapped, and then removed from the syringe before it can be disposed of. During the process of recapping and removing the contaminated needle from the syringe, there is always the possibility that a user, or others, may be accidentally pricked by the contaminated needle.